Mizzima
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and seven other organisations representing prisoners in Myanmar, have released a joint statement about the unlawful treatment of female political prisoners at Bago Region’s Daik-U Prison by prison staff.
Below is the full text of the 25 June joint statement by the eight organisations:
On 12 June 2024, in Kyaikemaraw Prison [in Mon State], a male prisoner was electrocuted when he was forced to put a corrugated iron fence between the male and female prison block, after prison lockup.
His fellow political prisoners requested emergency treatment be provided for him. But, the Correction Department under the terrorist State Administration Council (SAC) responded with the forceful transfer of 160 political prisoners, both male and female, to Daik-U Prison. During the transfer, they also alleged that prisoners were in the possession of drugs, threatening to charge them under drug laws, and forcefully confiscated the utilities and clothes of female political prisoners. They only gave some of those utility items back to these female political prisoners.
On 15 June 2024, female political prisoners protested after lockup, demanding that their utilities be returned to them. In response, prison staff committed numerous atrocities; using verbal sexual harassment against them, threatening them with gunshots, and forcefully shooting at them with slingshots and pieces of brick. As a result, more than 30 of the female political prisoners who were transferred to Daik-U Prison, suffered injuries whilst five female political prisoners suffered severe injuries. Those thirty female political prisoners were locked up in solitary confinement and were not provided with any medical attention or treatment.
The inhumane treatment and torture of female political prisoners, perpetrated by male prison staff inside Daik-U Prison, highlights a worst case of human rights violations. In Burma’s prisons, one does not even have the basic human rights like the right to life, and one’s freedom from torture is lost.
We strongly believe that prison staff should not treat female political prisoners, as though they are simply ‘the cards in their hands’. They are human beings with flesh, blood, and emotions. Therefore, we warn the terrorist SAC and staff from the Correction Department to carry out the following procedures, with immediate effect.
1. To immediately allow family visits and accept parcels from families of the female political prisoners who are forcefully transferred and locked in solitary confinement.
2. To unconditionally release the female political prisoners who are in solitary confinement, following the terroristic events at Daik-U Prison.
3. To provide adequate medical attention and treatment to all those injured by unlawful beatings.
4. To immediately drop all alleged charges including those drug charges that were imposed without evidence.
5. To return all utilities of female political prisoners that were confiscated without reason. We also urge international governments and human rights organizations to place greater and more substantial pressure on the SAC for the cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment of political prisoners. If the Correction Department under the terrorist SAC do not carry out the above demands, we will proceed with greater momentum along with our partners, both at a local and international scale.
Joint Statement by
1. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
2. Former Political Prisoners (FPPS)
3. Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar
4. Women Organization for Political Prisoners
5. ထောင်ဝင်စာပို့ကြမယ်
6. နွေဦးတမန်နိုင်ကျဉ်းကူညီထောက်ပံ့ရေးအဖွဲ့
7. Karenni Political Prisoners Association-KPPA
8. Eat My Heart
AAPP is a human rights organization based in Mae Sot, Thailand and Yangon, Myanmar. AAPP advocates for the release of all remaining political prisoners in Burma and for the improvement of their quality of life during and after incarceration. AAPP has developed rehabilitation and assistance programs for those political activists who have been released while continuing to document the ongoing imprisonment of political activists in Burma.
